DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS
Facebook
An undated Facebook photo of Tyler Clementi, sources say killed himself jumping off the George Washington Bridge. Two classmates (below) were arrested for cyber-voyeurism.
PRICE for News
Dharun Ravi
PRICE for News
Molly WeiTAKE OUR POLL
Rutgers tragedy
If proven, should the pair accused of broadcasting Tyler Clementi's sex life be held criminally accountable?
A Rutgers University freshman, distraught over a gay tryst splashed live across cyberspace by his roommate, plunged to his death from the George Washington Bridge.
"Jumping off the gw bridge sorry," read the final Facebook status from Tyler Clementi, just 72 hours after his private life suddenly became public knowledge.
The 18-year-old committed suicide after his dorm-room rendezvous was surreptitiously streamed on the Web via his roomie's hidden camera, sources told the Daily News.
The student who broadcast the liaison, and the friend who was with him, were arrested while Clementi's family waited for his body to be found.
"His poor parents," one police source said. "Shame is a terrible thing."
The quiet redhead, a scholarship student and skilled violinist, apparently asked roommate Dharun Ravi, 18, for some privacy on Sept. 19.
"Roommate asked for the room till midnight," Ravi wrote on Twitter that night. "I went into Molly's room and turned on my webcam. I saw him making out with a dude. Yay."
Authorities say Ravi streamed the action on the Web to friends - an illegal video transmission.
Two days later, in another Twitter post, Ravi indicated he had plans for a sequel.
"Yes, it's happening again," he wrote, inviting people to watch between 9:30 p.m. and midnight. The second streaming attempt failed, authorities said.
When Clementi learned of the vile voyeurism, he couldn't handle it and methodically planned his own death.
Sometime after 8 p.m. on Sept. 22, a friend said, he used his cell phone to change his Facebook status to the chilling farewell message.
Clementi wandered along the south walkway of the GWB from Fort Lee, N.J., to the tower on the New York side at 8:50 p.m., sources said.
Once there, he carefully left behind his wallet - including his license, AAA card and Rutgers ID - before leaping to his death. There was no note.
Authorities discovered the corpse of a white male floating Wednesday near theColumbia University boathouse, about 30 blocks north of the bridge, but no identification was made.
The dead teen's devastated family said they were "cooperating fully" with the continuing criminal probe against Ravi and his high-school pal and fellow Rutgers freshman Molly Wei.
"Tyler was a fine young man, and a distinguished musician," they wrote. "The family is heartbroken beyond words."
A priest spent about an hour Wednesday consoling the family at their Ridgewood, N.J., home.
Ravi and Wei were each charged with two counts of invasion of privacy. Ravi, freed on $25,000 bail, faced two additional charges for his botched bid at beaming Clementi's love life on the Internet.
They face up to five years in prison if convicted.
Rutgers, which launched a program to promote civility on campus just this week, said if the allegations are true, the duo violated the school's "standards of decency and humanity."
The gay rights group Garden State Equality denounced the death as a hate crime.
Rutgers student Danielle Birnbohm, who lived next door to Clementi and Ravi, said the pair shared a room in the Davidson C dorm but spent little time together.
"[Tyler] kept to himself. He was a great person," said Birn-bohm. "It's a shame. I can't believe someone would kill himself because of that."
Another dorm resident, Nicole Conter, recalled Clementi as "cute and quiet."
"He was in a band, and played instruments," said the chemistry major. "He really kept to himself."
At Ridgewood High School, the teen won a scholarship from the local symphony orchestra at his June graduation.
Ravi, of Plainsboro, and Wei, 18, of Princeton, were members of the same clique at West Windsor-Plainsboro High School North in New Jersey.
Friends described Ravi as an outgoing Ping-Pong player and Frisbee enthusiast who enjoyed a good prank.
"I think he's a good person," said Michael Zhuang, 17, a neighbor and former classmate. "I don't think he's a homophobe. It would've been no different if it was a girl in the room."
With Kerry Wills, Matthew Lysiak, John Lauinger, Jonathan Lemire and Samuel Goldsmith
Fresh food that lasts from eFoods Direct (Ad)
Live Superfoods
Print this page
